Monthly Archives: January 2016

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Because Buenos Aires is so big, we thought that doing a bike tour around the city would be fun and informative at the same time. We covered many points of interest and learned a lot about Argentina’s oftentimes tumultuous history.

Our guide, Taylor, who happens to be from Colorado, took us through different parts of the city that we would have not otherwise gone to or learned about on our own. He is very passionate about history and helped us all to understand some of Argentina’s past and present.

We travelled from the oldest – and now bohemian – barrio of San Telmo to the newest and most expensive area called Puerto Madero where the likes of Lionel Messi stays when in town.

Throughout our ride, we took photos of some of the most famous sights in BA including Teatro Colón, El Obelisco, Floralis Genérica (the giant aluminum and steel hydraulic flower), El Caminito (in La Boca), and of course the famous Recoleta Cemetery where Eva Perón lies.

We cruised by the world famous La Bombonera Stadium (the chocolate box) where the Boca Juniors football team plays. The Boca Junior fans are known for being very aggressive – so much so that last year they pepper sprayed the local rivalry, River Plate, and the game had to be suspended! We wanted to go see a game but maybe it’s better that it is off season right now.

We took a nice break midway through the ride where we stopped for a delicious lunch at a food truck in Puerto Madero called Parilla mi Sueño. On the menu was a huge pork sandwich called a Bondiola and a sandwich with chorizo that we shared. There were lots of toppings we could choose from including chimichurri sauce which is an Argentina original.

Later that night we met up with our new Aussie friends from the bike tour and went to an awesome show called La Bomba de Tiempo (the time bomb). It includes a whole team of percussionists that follow up to 70 different signs given by a director. It’s all improvised and every show is different!

And what better way to finish off the long day than to have a fine piece of Argentinian steak for dinner. They’re not shy about the serving sizes either! Our group ordered several different cuts of meat and they were all top notch. Argentina knows how to cook a steak!

The bike tour (a first for both of us) proved to be enlightening, fun and we were able to get a workout all at the same time! A day well spent…

Buenos Aires is the 2nd largest metropolitan area in South America and we are constantly discovering how unique it is every time we turn a corner. Every barrio (neighborhood) has something different to offer whether it be art, museums, music, cafes, and let’s not forget – the Argentine tango! It’s known for its European style architecture and has a lot of Italian influence as well, which means pasta and pizza are the main staples here. Oh yeah, there’s the steak too.

We are lucky enough to be staying in the Recoleta neighborhood, which is centrally located to some of the city’s most famous points of interest. We’ve hardly scratched the surface since we’ve been here, but we still have a few days left for more discoveries!

Relaxing and hanging out at our apartment (we got a great deal at $23/night!) has been a nice break from our hectic travels. We’ve been cooking lots of pasta! Here are some shots of our humble abode

Temperatures have been hovering around 85-90 degrees here! It’s great for strolling around the city and passing through some of the many local parks.

We went to see the famous Casa Rosada (the pink house), which you can think of as their version of the White House. It is rich with hundreds of years of history, and is the location where important political events take place in the city. This is where many Argentine leaders, including Eva Perón have given speeches to crowds of thousands of people. We walked around the Plaza de Mayo and imagined what it might look like during times of political turmoil, and also what it might have been like to see Eva Perón inspire so many people.

The Bicentennial Museum located under the Casa Rosada detailed the history of the architecture and politics of Argentina. It also houses many artifacts from the the late 18th century until around 2010. Talk about a time warp!

One of the many cultural staples here are the multitude of artisan street markets. The San Telmo Féria was one of the best ones we have ever been to! The beautiful cobble stone street called Calle Defensa was lined with bohemian style arts and crafts including leather goods, gourds used for making Yerba mate, paintings, jewelry, accessories and anything else you can think of! We were even lucky enough to catch a tango show in the Plaza!

So far BA has been so culturally enriching and we’re excited to see what else it has to offer!

Leaving São Paulo to get to our next destination, Iguazu Falls, only consisted of one very long and overly air conditioned bus ride, 18 hours to be exact. It all started with us nearly missing our bus but when we got to our destination, it was all worth it. Check out the bus – we had the lower level cabin with fully reclining seats!

The town of Foz do Iguaçu was a perfect 90 degrees. We enjoyed walking around the centro, but the main attraction and real reason why we were there was to see the famous Iguazu Falls.

The Iguaçu River acts as the border between Argentina and Brazil. The longest drop is about 269 ft and 1.7 miles wide, which makes it about 3 times the size of Niagara Falls! There are 275 waterfalls in total.

Seeing the waterfalls was nothing short of breathtaking. Pictures or videos don’t really do them justice. Walking through the park, there were several different views of the falls and the most up close and personal we got was the Garganta do Diabo (The Devils Throat). A pier-type walkway was built at the base of some of the biggest falls. Being so close, just the spray alone soaked our clothes! We can both agree, it is one of the most amazing sights we have ever seen.

Quick video we took at the falls ((CLICK on image below)):

The wildlife was spectacular too – we were often distracted from the falls trying to spot all the critters roaming around. Here’s a few we got on film!

So now we leave Brazil behind and begin a new chapter. Here we come, Argentina!

The last couple days have just been a whirlwind of sights to see here in São Paulo! For starters it’s the largest city in the whole Southern Hemisphere, with a population of 11.32 million. Compare that to little ol’ San Francisco with less than 1 million people! By the way, the photo above is from our apartment balcony!

Japan Town was a few blocks away from our apartment building and a visit to their weekly Sunday street fair was a must. Nothing like some good Asian food, even in Brazil! São Paulo has the largest Japanese population outside of Japan and also a large Chinese population. Interesting to see Asians speaking Portuguese….mind blown.

We visited the famous Avenida Paulista which is located in an area consisting of a blend of the financial district, mixed with the mission and sprinkled with some Berkeley. We even stumbled upon a protest right underneath a museum! Other photos we took include those of the alley “Beco do Batman” in Vila Madalena which is filled with some awesome street art.

And let’s not forget that “when in Brazil, do as the Brasileiros do”…..samba!! We had a great time meeting new friends, having buckets o’ beer, listening to great music and getting a little taste of the samba culture.

Although we had just a few short days here, we seemed to have covered some good points of interest. All this according to our awesome host Ligia who has graciously put up with our endless questions during our stay here 🙂

Our last days in Rio were all about chillin’ out and soaking in what we could while it lasted.

Last night we walked down to a nearby outdoor market called Cobal do Humaita for dinner. We ate at a really good restaurant called Joaquina’s. It was reminiscent of Brazilian/Mexican/Creole food. Yes, that’s cheese on a skewer.
We enjoyed our last cup of coffee this morning at our local favorite coffee spot – Boteco Cabidinho. We ordered two coffees “com leite” (with milk) and a fried egg sandwich. It cost less than $3.00.
We took a ferry across Guanabara Bay to Niteroi for a stroll and to see what Rio and Sugarloaf Mountain look like from the back side. We were going to stop at the MAC museum but unfortunately it was closed for construction.. It still looked pretty cool though. Maybe next time!

^back side of the famous Sugarloaf in the fog

And finally, we checked out of our little hostel home that kept us safe for the last 4 nights. It was a decent place; it provided us everything we needed at a good price. Staying in a hostel was a first for both of us but it was easy to get used to the shared bathrooms and living area.

We are looking forward to the next part of our adventure. Chapter 2: Sao Paolo!